On February 18th and 19th, 2025, a total of 18 people, including 16 students and 2 faculty members, from the Faculty of Public Health at Mahidol University in Thailand visited the Kyoto University School of Public Health (KUSPH). This visit was part of Mahidol University’s Master of Public Health program and is an annual event in which students and faculty from the university visit Japanese universities in the field of public health.

On the first day (February 18th), Associate Professor Koji Harada of KUSPH gave a lecture on research activities of the department of Health and Environmental Sciences. In the afternoon, the participants went on a field visit to Osaka University of Economics and Settsu City to see actual research activities in the field.

On the second day (February 19th), we held a group discussion among students and faculty of Mahidol University and KUSPH on the theme of “Aging Society and Medical Systems.” Divided into groups of four, participants engaged in lively discussions from a wide range of perspectives on the challenges of aging and medical systems in Thailand, Japan, and other countries. In addition, a total of nine students and faculty from Mahidol University and KUSPH gave presentations on their respective research themes and deepened the exchange of opinions. From the Thai side, research on the relationship between air pollution and human health, office syndrome, consumption of tap water in remote mountain areas of Thailand, and post-exposure prophylaxis against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were presented, while from KUSPH, research on community care between Japan and Bhutan, an international comparison of polypharmacy for children of ADHD, active learning in oral health education, and airport screening for COVID-19 was reported.

Through this visit, a new goal was set to further develop research and academic exchange between the two universities.